Americans United - Lenoir City High Schoolhttp://www.au.org/tags/lenoir-city-high-school
enThe Education Of Mr. Yoakley: Brave Bible-Belt Teacher Sanctioned For Standing Up For Studentshttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-education-of-mr-yoakley-brave-bible-belt-teacher-sanctioned-for
<a href="/about/people/rob-boston">Rob Boston</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">A Tennessee high school teacher who supported an atheist student has been transferred to another school. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Earlier this year, Americans United came to the assistance of a high school senior in Tennessee <a href="http://www.au.org/church-state/may-2012-church-state/featured/krystal-clear">named Krystal Myers</a>. Krystal, a resident of Lenoir City, is an atheist who decided to write <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/26/krystal-myers-school-promotes-religion-and-of/">a column</a> for the school newspaper about her experiences attending public schools in the Bible Belt town.</p><p>Myers outlined a series of “special rights” that she said the religious majority at the school enjoyed. These included sectarian prayers at graduation ceremonies, prayer at football games, teachers wearing clothing with religious imagery and prayers to open school board meetings.</p><p>The column turned out to be too hot to handle. When school administrators got wind of it, they yanked the piece from the school newspaper, <em>The Panther Press</em>. It later appeared in the Knoxville <em>News Sentinel</em>, where it reached a bigger audience, but, unfortunately, sparked a round of attacks on Krystal. Some commentators even proposed that she be run out of town.</p><p>By this time, Americans United was on the case. AU attorneys sent a letter to Lenoir City school officials, telling them that they must stop promoting religion in school. They advised school officials to “suspend delivery of prayers at board meetings; prohibit distribution of religious literature and messages during the school day, including by outside ministries; prohibit teachers from promoting religion during their classes; and eliminate prayers from graduation ceremonies and other school events.”</p><p>Krystal graduated in June, but fallout from the incident is still being felt. As a result of the letter, school officials said they would make a number of changes to school policies. That’s good. But a more recent development is not so good: A teacher who supported Krystal <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/sep/07/controversial-lenoir-city-teacher-says-he-loves/">has been removed</a> from Lenoir City High School.</p><p>Richard Yoakley, the adviser to the school newspaper, supported Krystal’s right to run the article about church-state problems at the high school. That got him summoned to the principal’s office for a talking to. A few months later, Yoakley ran into more problems after the school yearbook, of which he also served as adviser, contained an article about a gay student at the school.</p><p>“The administration didn't talk to me for two weeks,” Yoakley said recently at a forum sponsored by the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. He said not long after that, the principal asked him to resign, accusing him of “improperly influencing” students.</p><p>Yoakley refused to resign, and three weeks later was transferred to Lenoir City Middle School. The <em>News Sentinel</em> reported that a subsequent Freedom of Information request filed by the Student Press Law Center “revealed the pressure that the school administrators were subjected to by members of the community. A number of emails that were described as ‘vicious and vitriolic’….”</p><p>In fact, Yoakley said that he was wary of even being seen in Lenoir City for a while and that school officials considered hiring a security detail for him during the graduation ceremonies. Instead, Yoakley chose not to attend.</p><p>Yoakley says he loves his new job at the middle school, and I have no reason to doubt that. Still, I can’t help but feel sad over this incident. Here’s a man who by all accounts was dedicated to his job and cared about his students. And this is the reward he got?</p><p>Americans United has always had strong ties to the public education community. We know that most public school educators understand that their job is to stay focused on teaching, not preaching.</p><p>In many parts of the country, where religious diversity is the rule, a balance of interests keeps any one group from using the schools to promote its views. But as Yoakley’s story indicates, this is far from the case in some areas where religious majoritarianism continues to carry the day. We still have a lot of work to do in the Bible Belt.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/other-issues-regarding-religion-schools-and-universities">Other Issues regarding Religion in Schools and Universities</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/krystal-myers">Krystal Myers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lenoir-city-high-school">Lenoir City High School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/richard-yoakley">Richard Yoakley</a></span></div></div>Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:37:27 +0000Rob Boston7523 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/the-education-of-mr-yoakley-brave-bible-belt-teacher-sanctioned-for#commentsIntolerance In Tennessee: Lenoir City High School Students Face Torrent Of Hate http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/intolerance-in-tennessee-lenoir-city-high-school-students-face-torrent-of
<a href="/about/people/simon-brown">Simon Brown</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">It’s so sad that people who are just trying to live their lives by their own beliefs are shouted down simply because those beliefs don’t conform to the norm in a community. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>In March, Americans United <a href="/files/Letter%20from%20Americans%20United%20to%20Lenoir%20City%20Board%20of%20Education%20at%20al%20%28Mar%20%2012%202012%29.pdf">intervened</a> in Lenoir City, Tenn. after we received reports about a public school that openly favors Christianity.</p><p>Trouble began when Krystal Myers, a senior at Lenoir City High School, <a href="http://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/trouble-in-tennessee-lenoir-city-student-says-school-officials-favor">attempted to submit a column</a> in her school’s newspaper in which she outlined how difficult it is to be a non-believer in an overwhelmingly Christian community, and how she feels like something of a second-class student at a school in which sectarian prayers before football games and graduations are commonplace. (Her column was banned from the newspaper because, school officials said, because it might cause a disruption. The piece later ran in the <em>Knoxville News Sentinel</em>.)</p><p>Now, in what is beginning to feel like a cliché, Myers is being subjected to hateful rhetoric and threats from a community that claims to be Christian and prides itself on loving God. Here’s a sampling of some of what’s being said about Myers in a thread called “Krystal Myers Should be Excommunicated from the City and County” on a <a href="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/lenoir-city-tn/T5F0O5U1CLSD35148">local message board</a>.</p><p>“We cant [sic] pray at football games or school board meetings anymore because of the .. Tramp…$lut… Bitch,” said a poster named “Dude.”</p><p>“She should be taken outside the city and stoned,” a poster named “Jethro” said.</p><p>“She will burn…..,” “Tennessee Boy,” said simply.</p><p>Others have taken to more traditional forums, such as the <em>News Sentinel</em>. In a <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/apr/30/letter-atheism-religion-its-adherents/">letter to the editor</a>, J.A. Frahme of Knoxville had the audacity to accuse Myers, who stood up for the Constitution and the First Amendment, of being the closed-minded one.</p><p>“Krystal Myers' god is herself,” Frahme wrote. “She wants all others to adhere to her belief by removing God from having any place in the public arena. So it is one religion (atheism) telling another religion (Christianity) to get out of public and governmental places. The students have every right to exercise their Christian beliefs as she does her atheism.” </p><p>People like Frahme are totally off base. Not only did Myers find it difficult at best to express her beliefs, but Christian educators were expressing their religion in a way that not only offended Myers, but was unconstitutional.</p><p>Sadly the community’s intolerance doesn’t end there. In a separate incident, a gay student named Zac Mitchell was<a href="http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/d5c356744bb64036a580d758e86bc9d5/TN--Gay-Yearbook-Article/"> featured in an article</a> for the Lenoir City High School yearbook that was called “It’s O.K. to be Gay.”</p><p>This sent some in the community into a <a href="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/lenoir-city-tn/TQPNLRGODUTCD3N64">tirade</a>.</p><p>On the Lenoir topix.com board, one angry poster wrote:</p><p>“As a former editor of the Lenoir City High School Annual, I am sad and mad that such trash could be part of the yearbook. … See, people, when you ask God to leave our schools … this is what is going to happen.”</p><p>But the prize for most extreme overreaction goes to Van Shaver, a board member of the adjacent Loudon County Schools, who said the teacher who oversees the yearbook should be fired and that a <a href="http://www.vanshaver.com/its_not_ok.htm">full police investigation</a> should be launched “to hold accountable any and all those who had a hand in this despicable act.”</p><p>Protestors have called on students to rip the article about Mitchell from their yearbooks, and some are asking the school to prevent Mitchell and Myers, from walking across the stage at their upcoming graduation.</p><p>Americans United understands that the school probably won’t cave to protestors, but heightened security, possibly local police and National Guard members, may be needed at the ceremony.</p><p>It’s so sad that people who are just trying to live their lives by their own beliefs are shouted down simply because those beliefs don’t conform to the norm in a community. The United States is supposed to be a place where people can live their lives as they see fit, provided they don’t harm anyone else. Myers and Mitchell haven’t hurt anyone.</p><p>The only folks causing trouble are the citizens of Lenoir City who seek to demonize these kids because they had the fortitude to be different. Myers and Mitchell are courageous young people, and we commend them for their stand.</p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/krystal-myers">Krystal Myers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lenoir-city-high-school">Lenoir City High School</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/zac-mitchell">Zac Mitchell</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/van-shaver">Van Shaver</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/tennessee">Tennessee</a></span></div></div>Mon, 07 May 2012 17:21:23 +0000Simon Brown7064 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/intolerance-in-tennessee-lenoir-city-high-school-students-face-torrent-of#commentsTrouble In Tennessee: Lenoir City Student Says School Officials Favor Christianityhttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/trouble-in-tennessee-lenoir-city-student-says-school-officials-favor
<a href="/about/people/joseph-l-conn">Joseph L. Conn</a><div class="field field-name-field-blog-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blogs/wall-of-separation">Wall of Separation</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-callout field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Christian faith cannot rule the United States. It is unconstitutional. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="prose"><p>Do non-Christian students face discrimination in some public schools? That certainly seems to be the case.</p><p>In <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/26/krystal-myers-school-promotes-religion-and-of/">a column published in</a> the <em>Knoxville News Sentinel</em> yesterday, student Krystal Myers said Christianity is routinely favored at her Lenoir City (Tenn.) High School.</p><p>Myers, an atheist, said there are prayers each year at graduation ceremonies, prayers at football games and other athletic events and religious displays by teachers. Youth ministers, she said, are allowed to come onto the school campus and hand out candy and other food to Christian students and their friends.</p><p>According to her sources, the local school board also opens its meeting with Christian prayers.</p><p>“The whole foundation of how our school is conducted is established by obvious Christians,” asserted Myers, an honors student. “Somehow, this is unsurprising. If our school board chooses to ignore the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the Supreme Court, then it is no surprise that teachers choose to do the same.</p><p>“I know that I will keep trying to gain my rights as an atheist and as an American citizen,” she continued, “but I also need your help in educating other people to realize the injustice done to all minority groups. The Christian faith cannot rule the United States. It is unconstitutional. Religion and government are supposed to be separate.</p><p>“If we let this slide, what other amendments to the Constitution will be ignored? ” Myers asked. “I leave you to decide what you will or will not do, but just remember that nonbelievers are not what you originally thought we were. We are human beings — just like you.”</p><p>Myers’ column was originally written for the <em>Panther Press</em>, the student newspaper where she is editor, but school officials <a href="http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/feb/23/lenoir-city-high-school-wont-publish-atheist-on/">refused to allow it to be published. </a> School Superintendent Wayne Miller told the <em>News Sentinel </em>he feared her editorial had the potential for disruption in the school.</p><p>"We do have the right to control the content of the school paper if we feel it is in the best interest of the students," he told the newspaper.</p><p>So the bottom line is this: School officials sponsor or allow the promotion of Christianity but censor the expression of dissenting voices. That’s about as clear a violation of the U.S. Constitution as you can get.</p><p>Krystal is a bright and courageous young woman. She was right to bring these issues into the light of day so the situation can be corrected. Public schools must welcome all students, regardless of their views about religion. It is a violation of the First Amendment for government to favor the majority faith over others, or to favor religion over nonreligion.</p><p>That is a fundamental rule of American life, and it applies in Lenoir City just as it applies in the rest of the country.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Issues:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/school-prayer">School Prayer</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/issues/religious-distributions-events-and-evangelism-during-school-day">Religious Distributions, Events and Evangelism during the School Day</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/krystal-myers">Krystal Myers</a></span>, <span class="field-item"><a href="/tags/lenoir-city-high-school">Lenoir City High School</a></span></div></div><div class="tags clearfix"><div class="field-label">Location:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><span class="field-item"><a href="/our-work/grassroots/tennessee">Tennessee</a></span></div></div>Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:14:58 +0000Joseph L. Conn6830 at http://www.au.orghttp://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/trouble-in-tennessee-lenoir-city-student-says-school-officials-favor#comments